Politico app hits Android, mobile news users cheer

If there's one thing us Android users are pegged to love, it's choice. If you fit that mold (and be real, who doesn't?), and you love to consume news from your mobile device, you'll be pleased to know Politico has unleashed their mobile app to the masses.

The app itself is pretty fast, once it's loaded. I sat on the initial loading screen for a good 15 to 20 seconds as everything was loaded up. But once you're past that, you're greeted with an attractive interface and absolutely no lag whatsoever when selecting a story to read.

The app is also free (in price) and free of ads, so it's definitely worth picking up if you're a reader of Politico. And if you prefer your news from somewhere else, there's always CNN, USA Today, MSNBC, NPR, New York Times and Fox News.

Another Galaxy S II commercial from Samsung appears, this time touting thinness

Samsung has been on a tear recently with its commercials for the upcoming Galaxy S II and now another one has hit YouTube. This one focuses on the thinness of the device, particularly that its small enough to fit under a door. It is pretty impressive that Samsung has been able to include the high end specs inside a device that is 8.49mm thick.

Nook Color updated to Version 1.2, gets Froyo, apps, e-mail and more

Barnes & Noble's uber-popular Nook Color e-reader (which also doubles as a better-than-average Android tablet) is getting its official upgrade to version 1.2.0 this week. It's pushing out over the air, or you can install it manually. Here's what's new:

Access to shop a broad collection of popular NOOK Apps™ to enjoy great games, stay up to date on news and weather, and more

NOOK Color’s update to Android OS 2.2/Froyo offers system improvements, browser performance and a more complete Web experience giving customers access to enjoy even more video, interactive and animated content. NOOK Color now includes support for Adobe® Flash® Player

NOOK Kids™ exciting new Read and Play titles that bring animation, activities and stories together

NOOK Books Enhanced offer in-page video and audio in a growing number of titles

Enhancements to magazine navigation making it easier to enjoy even more of the growing selection of magazines in NOOK Newsstand

Looking at the listed specs, it's pretty similar to the Transformer. It's got a 10.1-inch IPS display, Android 3.0 Honeycomb powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, USB ports, SD card reader, microUSB, HDMI, Wifi and 3G versions, and "keyboard booklet and cradle." Same as the Transformer. And like ASUS' set, the ThinkPad Tablet will come in 16GB and 32GB versions -- and add on a 64GB versions for the serious PowerPoint players. It's also touting some serious enterprise-friendly Cisco security software, which the new Samsung devices will be sporting as well. But, wait, there's more. The ThinkPad Tablet also will have a pen input a la the HTC Flyer.

We're going to withhold judgment on the keyboard dock until it's official and we get to see it. But if leaked images are any indication, it looks seriously clunky compared to the EeePad Transformer. We'll just have to see. Check out more pics and deets at the source link. [This is My Next]

The HTC Hero (GSM) needs your hackery help

The GSM version of the HTC Hero is in need of a CyanogenMod maintainer, so it has been dropped by the CM team. Ciwrl sends word that while they have tried to keep the Hero on the supported device list, some memory eating bugs have cropped up and without someone to keep things up to date, they had no choice but to discontinue support for the GSM Hero.

Like its Sprint cousin, the Hero is still a pretty capable device and has probably the best profile of any phone -- Android or otherwise -- with that awesome chin. We just can't let it die without a fight. If anyone out there has the time and skills to commit to this one, contact a member of the CM team. [CyanogenMod Forum via @gu1dry]

CyanogenMod 7.0.2 brings host of bugfixes, support for OG Droid

A quick heads up for all you CyanogenMod users -- CM7.0.1 CM 7.0.2 stable was just released, and it brings along a slew of bugfixes identified since CM7.0 hit. Here's the official word:

It’s been about two weeks since we rolled out the first stable version of CyanogenMod-7, and it unfortunately came with a few bugs. 7.0.1 brings many bugfixes, including GPS fixes for many devices, a handful a new features, and support for a few devices that weren’t quite ready in time for 7.0 (original Droid).

Hey, bugs happen. Nice to see 'em squashed quickly. Head on into ROM Manager or the CM forums and get your download on. [CyanogenMod]

Editorial: If you want to know where I've been, all you have to do is ask

Much hay has been made of late over your phone caching (aka "storing") your location data. It started with the realization that the iPhone was storing location data ... and storing, and storing. (And also syncing the data to the computer via iTunes.) The problem is that the data wasn't overwritten over time, so you've got a general look at where someone's been over the life of the phone.

Headlines ensued.

Android does the same sort of thing, boys and girls. And it's supposed to. But it does it right. Instead of saving days and weeks and months of location data, it saves the 50 most recent cellular GPS locations, and 200 most recent Wifi fixes. And it's stored in a little file on your phone.

First off: All those location-based services you like to use -- Google Maps, local search results, Foursquare, Gowalla, Twitter, photo geotagging, etc. -- they all use caching to speed up the process of figuring out where you are. That's what caching is, after all. Saving data (in a "cache") so that it doesn't have to be loaded from scratch each time. The browser you're reading this on likely does it, and it makes things that much easier. Same thing for smartphones.

"But, Phil!" you cry. "All of that information is cached on my phone, where anyone can get to it!" Well, sure. But, first and foremost, you need root access ("you" being an app or someone trying to get at the data). There's a handy little app called Location Cache on the Android Market that will show you just where you've been. Or, more accurately, where your phone has pinged. (I haven't actually been in Washington, D.C., in about 8 years, but my phone's pinged some Wifi access point there, somehow.) The app also gives you the option to wipe the cached location data and block further data.

But in long list of things that are on my phone that I don't want to fall into evil hands, my 50 most recent cellular pings aren't all that high. Nor are the 200 most recent Wifi locations I've pinged one way or another. Contacts and e-mail, photos, well, that's another story.

But our level of concern really comes down to this: How would someone gain access to the information? The most likely route is directly. Your phone is lost or stolen and falls into nefarious hands. Sure, it's possible you could download an evil-doing application. You might have heard about a few in the news lately. But in spite the occasional headline, data-stealing apps aren't all that prevalent. We know. We download a lot of apps around here. And your phone needs to be rooted for anyone -- or any app -- to have access to the location cache in the first place.

So what can you do? What should you do?

First thing we'd recommend is installing a security app that can locate your phone should it be lost or stolen -- and wipe it (erase all the data) if you can't recover it. There are a bunch of good security apps out there. Google 'em and take a look. It's worth taking a look at, location caching or no location caching.

Alternatively, you can shut off Android's location services and stop further caching of location data. It's in Settings>Location & Security. (The name might be slightly different depending on your phone, but we're not surprised Google associated one with the other on stock Android.)

And you might not have noticed this unless you're the type who flashes devices from scratch on a daily or weekly basis, but one of the first things Android does is ask whether you want to use the location services. It is not caching your location information without your permission, even if you never noticed it on setup.

Let's recap: The sky's not falling. Android isn't storing your location information -- and remember this is general location information and not necessarily exactly where you've been -- without your permission. And it's pretty unlikely that your cached data will fall into evil hands. And even if it does, there are ways to protect yourself.

The Week in Android News

Another week completed and now its time to reflect and see how much news you may have missed. So, if you aren't out hunting down Easter eggs, or playing the Angry Birds Easter update, check below for some of what you may have missed over the course of this past week.

HTC launches Sensation sign-up page

The HTC Sensation is still getting ready for its T-Mobile U.S. launch this summer but that hasn't prevented HTC from allowing fans to sign up to receive email notifications. Our own Alex Dobie got some quality hands-on time with the phone at a HTC promo event in the UK, where Vodafone will be the first to offer the device starting next month. Head on over past the link to sign up with HTC, or, you know, just keep reading Android Central. [HTC] Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

'Won't have to wait long' for Gingerbread, T-Mobile says of G2X

Could be hours, could be days, could be weeks, but T-Mobile has told one of its Twitter followers that "Gingerbread is coming to the G2X soon. You won't have to wait long." Let's certainly hope so. That that the G2X is unusable with Froyo, but it's definitely a little noticeable going back (especially if you're a stock keyboard user). [Twitter] Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Android Central ROM review: Carbonite Fusion for the Droid Incredible

This week we have a great Dinc Sense ROM -- Carbonite Fusion by trock70. Romaholic and Dinc lover (also quite the writer) PvilleComp gives us a look at this one, which delivers Sense with a very nice look and some excellent tweaks. Little touches like porting over graphics from TouchWiz, and the notification toggles gives it a really unique look and feel. I'll let you read it for yourself, but I have to give a shout out to trock70 -- this one looks like Sense done right. Thanks for the review Mike!

Want to write a ROM review for Android Central? We'd love to hear from you! Look here for details. Now head past the break for the review.

Android Quick App: TweetComb - Proper Twitter for Honeycomb

Believe it or not, we're several months into the life of Android 3.0, and we're just now seeing our first Honeycomb-optimized Twitter app. Brought to you by the developer of the Honeycomb-optimized Newsr RSS app (see our review here), TweetComb takes advantage of the "fragments" design feature in Honeycomb and actually makes use of the full tablet screen, unlike smartphone-based Twitter clients.

The gist: You've got three columns -- your timeline, mentions and direct messages. Scroll down to read through them. If you want to act on a tweet -- reply to the sender, retweet, mark as a favorite, etc. -- you tap and hold. You can refresh all the columns at once, or independently. Settings are tucked away in the Action Bar, just as they should be in Honeycomb. No extra menu button at the bottom for this app.

TweetComb is still very Version 1.0. It doesn't yet have support for multiple accounts (a must for some of us), and the list of trending topics displayed neatly at the bottom doesn't actually do anything more than display the list of trending topics. But these are small niggles, and the developer's known for quickly pushing out updates.

Probably our biggest gripe right now is that TweetComb is $2.99 in the Android Market. There's no shortage of free Android Twitter apps, and you just know one of the major players -- TweetDeck, Seesmic, Twidroid, Plume, etc. -- will bring free versions of a Honeycomb-optimized Twitter app at some point. And if we were first out of the gate with a Honeycomb Twitter app, we'd give it away to bring in as many users as possible before the big boys show up. But for now, if you've gotta have some proper Twitter on a tablet, this is the way to go.

HTC Roadshow: Hands-on video with the HTC Sensation

We took a trip down to the HTC Roadshow in Manchester yesterday, where we were lucky enough to be allowed some face-time with the HTC Sensation, HTC's beastly 4.3-inch dual-core device, which is due for release in May. And, of course, we were sure to grab plenty of video footage and photos of the artist formerly known as Pyramid for your perusal.

The Sensation is the first device to launch with HTC Sense 3.0, the new version of HTC's custom UI that gives it its biggest overhaul to date. Though the handset we saw was still running pre-release firmware, we were still impressed with the slickness of the user experience it offered.

Join us after the jump for the video itself, along with some bonus photos from the HTC Roadshow.

Android Central Editors' app picks for April 23, 2011

Gaming on an Android device is always a great way to pass some time and to have countless hours of fun while on the go. If you are into gaming, and love your Android device, be sure to check out some of our favorite Android games below.

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